Poultry processing is an area in which microbiological control is of vital importance. By the very nature of the processing involved there are numerous opportunities for the poultry to be exposed to various pathogens in the form of mobile bacteria such as for example Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurim, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter lari, and in the form of biofilms such as for example Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecium, and Staphylococcus aureus. The thought of handling, processing and consuming bacteria-infested poultry is revolting in the extreme.
There are several factors which magnify the problem of microbiological control in the processing of poultry for use as food. One such factor is the extremely wide variety of microorganisms that can be encountered in such processing, and that as reported for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,992, sensitivity of a microorganism to a particular antimicrobial agent is not predictive of the sensitivity other microorganisms to the same agent. Another factor is the ability of various bacterial strains to develop resistance to antibiotics and antibacterials, such as nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline, or the like, thereby making it even harder to discover a way of effectively controlling a broad range of microorganisms encountered in such processing. Still another factor is the need to effect such control without significantly affecting the appearance, texture, quality, and taste of the finished poultry products.
Heretofore certain chlorine-based microbiocides have been proposed and used in an attempt to provide suitable sanitation in connection with poultry processing. Unfortunately while some chlorine-based microbiocides show some effectiveness, they possess a number of serious shortcomings. For one thing they are not as effective as one might wish. Secondly, they tend to be odorous and in many cases can exert a bleaching effect upon the poultry carcasses which can prove unpalatable to the consumer. Moreover, because of the spread of fecal matter associated with the evisceration of the fowl, fecal bacteria abound. This egregious condition in turn results in high nitrogen levels in the wash waters, and on wet surfaces such as cutting surfaces, conduits, tank surfaces, and other downstream equipment exposed one way or another to these wash waters. Unfortunately, the active chlorine species of certain chlorine-based microbiocides tend to react with the nitrogenous species to form chloroamines which are lachrymators as well as being corrosive to metallic surfaces. In fact, as little as 50 ppm of chlorine in aqueous washing tanks containing nitrogenous impurities can produce quantities of air-borne lachrymators that are intolerable to plant workers. Furthermore, the consumption of chlorine values in forming chloramines results in a significant loss of biocidal effectiveness inasmuch as the chloroamines are not biocidally-active species.
Clearly therefore a need exists for a new, more effective, economically feasible way of providing microbiological control in the poultry processing industry. Of especial concern, is a need for a way of effectively controlling a broad range of microorganisms encountered in the processing of poultry, and to effectively control contamination of poultry carcasses by microorganisms that have developed strains which are resistant to common antibiotics or antibacterials, such as nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline, or the like.